Friday, October 20, 2006

This is what I received from my secret sister yesterday. I'm so impressed! What a great collaged notebook - and there's my name (thursday) along the top of the photo (this is a top spiral notebook - it's sideways in the pic). The notebook itself is rather odd. The top 4/5 or so of the pages are blank, with the bottom 1/5 lined - and the lined portion can be torn off. What shall I use it for? I don't know yet, but something good!

My knitflix package does not seem to have arrived yet - I sent it out on the 3rd or 4th of October. Seems a bit odd. Nor have I received a package yet. Also odd, since my partner said she was sending it out on the 3rd or 4th also! Huh. I hope they aren't lost in the mail.

I just got my vegan pal's name, and I'm going to have to think hard to figure out what to make for her. I do have a month, though, so hopefully that will be enough time to make something fun. I just ate an egg - so I'm not vegan today. Actually, if I had to give up knitting with wool, eating cheese (not melted - i abhor stringy cheese - makes me gag, i know, it's odd), wearing leather, and my lip balm with beeswax?! Wow. I dunno. But this swap is definitely making me think more about what is in all sorts of products.

I never mentioned that what I do for a living can be a bit disturbing. I work in a radiocarbon lab - and I extract collagen (the organic portion) from bones for dating. And that means that I crush bones into 1mm fragments - yes, human bone too. I'm not sure if vegans would have a problem doing that - I mean, these are long dead individuals - I'm not eating them or using them for tools or clothing, so.... Actually, many people might find it all a little creepy.

At work or in school: I work best by myself. I like to focus on my ideas until my desire for understanding is satisfied. I am easily bored if the subject holds no interest to me. Sometimes, it is hard for me to set priorities because so many things are of interest.With friends: I may seem reserved. Although my thoughts and feelings run deep, I am uneasy with frequent displays of emotion. I enjoy people who are interesting and of high integrity.With family: I am probably seen as a loner because I like a lot of private time to think. Sometimes, I find family activities boring and have difficulty following family rules that don't make sense to me. I show love by spending time with my family and sharing ideas and interests.Take this quiz!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

You are bamboo.Warm, cozy, and thoughtful, you take your time and enjoy how things feel, smell, and taste. You love the craft and beauty of traditional things, and you value the comfort and experience of knitting as much as the results. But while you are reveling in your warm cozies, don't get stuck. Warm is wonderful, but so is the whole wide world!Take this quiz!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

I joined the Vegan Pal swap (after reading about it on both swap-bot and Craftylilly's blog). I know, I know...I can hardly keep up with my swaps already! But this one seems interesting to me, so :P

1.) What is your craft, & how long have you been doing it?Currently, knitting - for about 2 months (and not regularly, but that isn't my choice!). I'd love to sew, but I don't have a sewing machine or the space to put one. Crochet still stumps me - I keep wanting needles to put the stitches on!

2.) Are you a vegan, vegetarian, veg-curious, veg-friendly or other?98% Vegetarian. And very curious. Some people say too curious.

4.) Do you have any allergies (such as pets, foods or cigarette smoke)?Cigarette smoke. Also a form of penicillan, but since it's illegal to pass on your drugs... Please don't send mold or ragweed, either.

5.) Do you have any companion animals? If so, names and types?Hahaha - four cats have me as a slave. Ok. Only Chester thinks I'm his slave. They are Lotus, Tyger, Anya (little one), and Chester.

6.) Do you collect anything?Um. Yarn. (don't tell my husband...he doesn't know yet) And boxes and bags - I'll buy these even if I don't need them - I love containers!

7.) Do you have a favorite vegan food, snack or dish? If no fav that's vegan (for those who aren't vegan), what's your favorite food? (Hopefully your pal can find a vegan version!)

8.) What tools/supplies/accessories for your craft(s) are you wishing you had but don't? Also, what do you have TOO many of? (basically a wish and anti-wish list)

I don't have any stitch markers, not enough row counters, and only have a few sets of needles. I keep my needles stashed in drawers, bags, etc. because I have no rolls or anything to put them in! Not only that, but I also have no nice knitting totes to put my projects in! I know, I have bags, but most of these have other purposes (or aren't up to the job). I have plenty of rubber stamps and ink pads from attempting to make cards and altered books. That didn't go well.

9.) What type of handmade item would tickle your fancy? What don't you like? (Keep in mind this swap is open to all types of crafters.)

Monday, October 16, 2006

Well, since family is involved, of course! So many different people with different ideas of what should be done at certain times... All last week I couldn't wait for my brother's wedding to be over! The stress caused multiple arguments/discussions about when my husband and I would do what - drive home Saturday night after the wedding or Sunday morning after sleeping in a hotel? Guess who won? But hey, he was driving, not me. I was exhausted after the wedding (11:30pm) - but at least I hadn't been drinking like many there! But now it *is* over. Yay! Isn't my new sister-in-law lovely? Now the family can begin asking *them* when there will be little ones!

Friday, October 06, 2006

My irish hiking scarf had a small accident last night. I didn't know it at the time. This morning, I started knitting and found some odd loose stitch on the needle...what is it? When did it get there? Must've been last night when I thought 'hey, i'll knit a couple more rows...this is an easy knit!' hahahaha. So, I should not knit when exhausted. Or right before leaving for work. Because next I tried to fix said problem...I ripped out one row, but that wasn't enough - now there's this super long weird stitch thing that can't just be dropped from the needle (tried that). Huh. I'm stumped and I keep thinking about needing to fix it (but I'm not at home now so I can't!).

In other news...I have finished several of my swaps (not all). Here's the lovely yarn I sent to my partner in Norway the other day:I hope she likes it...I just went by what *i* like! I've finished three dishcloths since I startedknitting (here's two):

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Huh. This morning I was attempting to swatch for the cleo clutch and realized something was bizarre with my purls. When I turned around to knit the next row, the yarn was in back! Odd, thought I. So I got out my Vogue knitting book and checked out the directions. I was wrapping the yarn the wrong way! Sheesh. I've knit half a scarf (ok, way less than half), and three dish cloths with backward purling. The swatch looks less crazy now. Counter-clockwise, clockwise...whatever! Then again, when I checked the vogue book for how to do a knit stitch (could I be doing that wrong too???), it says to wrap clockwise, but shows wrapping counter-clockwise in the picture. Now I'm confused. Oh well. I think I'm going to have to increase the size of my needles to get gauge...